Swinging shelf.



E. A. BENJAMIN. SWINGING SHELF. APPLICATION FILED OCT- 23. I912.

Patented May16,1916.

EDWIN A. BENJAMIN, OF @AN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

NGING snnnr.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Application filed Octoberhfi, 1912. Serial No. 727,465.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWIN A. BENJAMIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Diego, in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented a new and useful Swinging Shelf, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in swinging shelves, the primary object of the invention being the provision of a novel means for suspending a shelf with relation to a desk or other piece of furniture, the same being especially adapted for supporting a type writing machine, either below the top of the desk or in front and exteriorly thereof in writing position, there being novel means for retaining the shelf in either one of such positions.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a novel releasing device, whereby the shelf may be released previous to the movement thereof to either one of the desired positions.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of the desk with the present device in operable relation thereto and in the forward extended position. Fig.-

2 is a sectional view through a desk with the present'device shown in type writing supporting position, dotted lines illustrating the same in its extreme lower or rear position. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the shelf showing the catch or locking device. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view showing the mounting of the latch to the shelf.

Referring to the drawings, D designates the desk which is of-the usual form provided with the feet receiving open portion thereof, the space being employed to properly permit of the suspension ,ofthe shelf 1 therein. This shelf 1 is provided with the four supporting standards 2, and 3, there being two forward and two rear ones one upon each side, the same being pivotally connected as at 5 to the shelf and to the desk 'ring 15 and pull at 6 and 7 so that the shelf 1 may be swung to assume either position, as shown in Fig. 2. These'four supporting standards may be attached directly to the sides of the desk, or to brackets or other supports instead of as here shown, and may be curved or offset, as desired. Secured to the desk at the upper portion below the front edge thereof is a lug 8 while secured to the rear wall of the desk is a lug 9, either one of the lugs being disposed to be engaged by the hook 10 of the loosely and yieldably mounted latch member 11 to retain the shelf 1 in either of the positions as shown in Fig. 2. If the desk has no rear Wall, the lug 9 is secured to a bar or bracket provided for this purpose. This latch member 11 is connected in the beveled recessed portion a at the rear of the shelf 1, by means of the screw 10, which holdsv the lower free end of the member 11 with a tension toward either lug 8 or 9.

Connected to the member 11 intermediate of its ends and normally holding it in an upright position so thatits hooked end 10 will engage either one of the lugs 8 or 9, are the two flat metal strips 16, which form a resilient support for the member 11 and permit of the movement of the member 11 through the eye 12, cord or wire 13 and ring 15, its cord being passed through the eye 14: at the forward upper edge of the shelf 1 or may pass through or under the shelf.

If so desired, springs may be connected to the shelf 1 to assist in raising the same to the forward extended position when a type writing machine (not shown) is in the proper writing position.

With this construction, it is evident that when the shelf 1 is in either one of the positions shown in Fig. 2, that the hooked end 10'of the member 11 will engage either one of the lugs 8 or 9 and thus retain the shelf in'the desired horizontal position, so that when it is desired to release the locking member 11, that the cord 13 may be pulled upon through the ring 15 moving the locking member 11 outwardly and away from the lug 8 or 9, thus permitting the shelf to be moved from either position to the desired position.

It will be obvious that when it is desired to move the shelf to extended or active position, it is merely necessary to grasp the upon it. This will result in the disengagement of the latch from the ear 9 and continued pulling on the ring will cause the released shelf to swing up wardly to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, whereupon the release of ring 15 will result in the latch engaging the ear 8. By reversing the foregoing operation, to wit, pulling on ring 15, the latch will be released from ear 8', and the shelf can be lowered gradually to its housed position.

WVhat is claimed is:

The combination with a desk, and latch engaging members fixedly connected to the upper portion of the front thereof and to the lower portion of the back thereof, of a shelf, means for supporting the shelf to swing to extended position beyond the upper portion of the front of the desk and to reextending from the front of the shelf to the latch and operating, during a forward pull thereon, to successively disengage the latch from holding position and swing the shelf from retracted to projected position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN A. BENJAMIN.

Witnesses:

MARTHA A. BENJAMIN, THOMAS OHALLARAN. 

